At Burscough-based creative audio-visual company, Redolution, managing director Alison Grady, her husband Damian and their business partner, Richie, create films for clients ranging from Lancashire-based Partington’s Holiday Parks, to national car leasing firm Select Car Leasing.

These films, developed together with a wider team of associates, are used across TV, social media, email and digital campaigns to measurably improve their clients’ profile, reputation and sales.

Having been supported by various Lancaster University faculties over the last few years, including the Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) and School of Computing and Communications (SCC) to name a few. They have all helped Alison to develop personally as well as expand her knowledge base to help her business to innovate and grow.

Here is what Alison had to say about her experiences working with Lancaster University:

“After initially attending the Lancashire Forum, a leadership development programme from LUMS, it helped me to build the vision and purpose needed to steer my business towards a new phase of growth, before and during the pandemic.

“The Forum also spurred me on to implement a new payment policy which instantly took so much pressure off us. Before Covid, it allowed us to focus on the quality of work for clients, rather than stressing about payment. During the pandemic, that cash was a buffer that gave us the financial security to invest our time in refocusing the business.

“I felt more confident than ever as a businessperson through taking part in the Lancashire Forum. Some of the themes we covered in the sessions were familiar to me and it made me realise that I know this and I can do it: I had a really strong feeling of affirmation.

It gave me the self-belief I needed to be the change-maker, enabling Damian and Richie to focus on being creative.

“After attending the Forum, we looked for further support at the university and decided to attend the SCC Lancashire Cyber Foundry workshop programmes.

“These workshops enabled me to make immediate changes in the business, like modifying our password management system to ensure company passwords are more secure moving forward. It certainly opened my eyes and changed my perceptions of some things. For example, I had mistakenly believed that we were somehow more protected from threats because we use Apple Macs not PCs, which is not true and was quite the wake up call.

“The follow up reports enabled me to compare my business’s appetite to make significant business improvements and innovations to that of peer businesses on the programme as well as giving me a benchmark of our capability to identify, assimilate and apply knowledge from external sources. That information helped me to understand our willingness to be open to new ideas, people and new ways of working. And who doesn’t need that?

“We went through really useful business management tools so the programme was not all about technology, it enabled me to think more strategically about our future plans. Having come away with a greater awareness of the threats, I now have the confidence to implement changes to make my business more cyber secure. Prevention is key and we are working to manage potential threats and future risks.

“Reflecting on the value of both programmes, I can see how the combination of that content is particularly relevant to businesses today. It’s essential to look not only at our own business and market, but also how the world is evolving around us.

“The development programmes I have attended have led to positive changes and growth in my business and I would thoroughly recommend that other business leaders get involved.”

Join our new Cyber Strategy programme - starting 16th & 17th November 2022.

This programme will enable SMEs to address challenges around digital attacks, including managing threats and risks and developing new ways of working including boosting leadership capability and capacity and creating solutions through innovation.

Enable your business to get ahead on cyber security and develop a culture of cyber excellence.

To find out more and apply contact csp.lu@lancaster.ac.uk or visit the web.



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